Dispensing carton having recloseable pour opening



/ i I i 1 11 i M I I i March 12, 1968 i G. G. RUMBERGER 3,372,353

DISPENSING CARTON HAVING RECLOSEABLE POUR OPENING Filed May 31, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 [fin 61250 auge G fizmze ryez' March 12, 1968 3,372,853

DISPENSING CARTON HAVING RECLOSEABLE POUR OPENING G. G. RUMBERGER 3 Sheets-$heet 2 Filed May 31, 1966 N 1/222 501" George umber March 12, 1968 G. 3. RUMBERGER 3,372,853

DISPENSING CARTON HAVING RECLOSEABLE POUR OPENING Filed May 31. 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet United States Patent Office 3,372,853 DESPENSING CARTON HAVING RECL'OSEABLE POUR OPENING George G. Rumberger, Kalamazoo, Micl1., assignor to Brown Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 31, 1966, Ser. No. 553,950 10 Claims. (Cl. 229-17) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Dispensing carton having means providing a dispensing opening and a detachable reclosure flap hingedly connected at its base to a side panel of the carton.

The present invention relates to dispensing cartons for packaging dispensable products, as for example in granulated or powdered form, and is more particularly concerned with such a dispensing carton which has means for readily providing an opening for dispensing the contents and means for reclosing the carton.

It is an object of the invention to provide a dispensing carton which can be readily and inexpensively fabricated. It is a further object to provide a carton of the type described which has means for readily providing a dispensing opening so that the contents may be poured out of one end of the carton. It is an additional object to provide a carton having an opening for dispensing, which opening may be readily reclosed after some but not all of the contents of the carton have been removed. It is an additional object to provide a carton of the type described which can be formed and erected from a suitable cut and scored integral blank. The accomplishment of the foregoing and additional objects will become more fully apparent here 1 inafter.

The invention in its preferred embodiment is illustrated by the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an integral blank cut and scored to provide a dispensing carton according to the invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the top or end of the erected carton.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the carton after a dispensing opening has been provided.

' FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the end of the carton after the dispensing opening has been reclosed.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of an integral blank of another embodiment of the carton of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of one end of the erected carton of FIG. 5 after an opening has been provided; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of an end of the carton, partly broken away, showing the carton after the opening has been reclosed.

According to the invention, a carton is provided having a reclosure flap in an end thereof defined by a pair of severance lines. A tab is provided at one end of the opening panel which may be grasped. An intermediate end panel is provided with severance lines defining a detachable panel whereby a dispensing opening is formed when said detachable panel is removed. After a portion of the contents has been removed, the opening may be reclosed by folding over the reclosure flap and retaining it in closed position by inserting the end thereof in a retaining slot provided therefor, thereby retaining the flap in closed position.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings for a better understanding of the invention, wherein all the parts are numbered and wherein the same numbers are used to refer to the same parts throughout.

Patented Mar. 12, 1968 Referring to FIGS. 1-4, the carton of the invention comprises major side panels 1 and 2, and minor side panels 3 and 4. A glue flap 5 is hingedly connected to the minor side panel 4. At one end of the carton end panels 6, 7, 8 and 9 are hingedly connected to the side panels 1, 3, 2, and 4, respectively. Hingedly connected to the major panel 1 is an inner end panel 10. An intermediate end panel 11 is hingedly connected to the major side panel 2. Small outer end panels 12 and 13 are hingedly connected to the minor side panels 3 and 4 respectively. One corner of the inner end panel 10 is provided with a recess 14 providing a pour or dispensing opening. A retaining slit 1.5 is provided perpendicular to the fold line of the fiap for retaining a reclosure flap, to be described. The intermediate end panel 11 is provided with severance lines 16, 17, and 18 defining a detachable dispensing opening panel 19, Which when the carton is erected and sealed, is positioned over the recess 14. The outer end panel 12 is suitably cut to provide oblique severance lines 20 and 21 defining a reclosure flap 22 having a tab 23 defined at its end. The severance lines 20 and 21 are preferably in registry with the severance lines 16 and 18 in the erected carton.

The carton described above may be fabricated from conventional paperboard and erected and sealed with conventional glue. However, the structure is particularly well adapted for use with laminated paperboard having a heatactivatable adhesive as an inner layer and having groups of slits provided in the outer layers permitting the adhesive to be extruded and to heat seal the flaps. Such type cartons and blanks are more particularly described in US. Patent 3,194,474. Alternatively, a thermoplastic adhesive may be preapplied to the surfaces of the flaps when the blank is formed. As a further alternative, conventional glue may be applied to the flaps immediately before sealing the carton.

In assembling the carton, the glue flap 5 is first affixed to the free edge of the major panel 1. The sleeve thus formed may then be erected and the flaps 6, 7, 8 and 9 folded in any sequence and sealed in place to close one end. In the preferred embodiment, the large flaps 6 and 8 are first folded in and the smaller flaps 7 and 9 then glued thereover. The carton is then filled with the desired contents. Sealing of the carton is accomplished by first folding in the inner end panel 10. The intermediate end panel 11 is then folded thereover, followed by the outer end flaps 12 and 13. If a carton is utilized which is constructed of laminated paperboard having a thermoplastic adhesive layer intermediate two or more paperboard layers, or if preapplied thermoplastic adhesive is used, the entire end of the carton may be sealed at once by applying heat and then removing the heat while maintaining the flaps under force to maintain them in closed position. Alternatively the flaps may be sealed together by applying conventional glue and permitting the glue to set, as described above. In a preferred embodiment, the reclosure panel 22 is adhesively aflixed to the panel 19. As a result, when the reclosure panel 22 is pulled open, it removes the panel 19 therewith. Alternatively, the reclosure flap and panel 19 may be left unafilxed to each other. It is then necessary to remove the panel 19 manually after the reclosure flap 22 has been opened.

The carton is opened for removing contents by grasping the tab 23 and lifting the reclosure flap 22, causing separation at the severance lines 20 and 21 and permitting the flap to hinge at the score line at which it is connected to the side panel 3. If the panel 19 has been adhesively afiixed to the reclosure flap 22, the panel is automatically re moved and an opening is provided. If the panel 19 is not adhesively afiixed to the reclosure flap 22-, the panel may be removed manually by detaching the panel at the severance lines 16, 17 and 18. Contents may then be poured out of the carton through the opening thus provided.

nor

occn removed, the

the tab 23 into After a portion of the contents has carton may be reclosed by insert" trapezoidal opening formed h ing the flap and disengaging the t iangular l5 dad in the A somewhat modified embodiment FIGS. 57. In this embodiment most of tn the same as that of the embodiment of FIG ever, the recess 14:1 of the inner end pane 6 a. S. 1-4. Hovis are end 11a l narrower, While the panel 19!: of internistv is moved upward a small distance so that the al i e of the trapezoid is somewhat greater reby torn g a marginal guide 25 for facilitating the insertion of the tab end 23 of the reclosurc flap 7.2, as shown in FIG. 6. As a result, after the panel 19a has been removed, the reclosure fiap 22 may be secured by inserting the apex thereof intermediate the layers of the inner end panel Na and the intermediate end panel 11a, as shown in FIG. 7.

The present invention provides a dispensing carton adapted to contain material such as in powdered or granulated form. A dispensing opening may be readily provided to dispense the contents. Moreover, means are provided for reclosin the carton for storing unconsumed contents. The carton is relatively inexpensive to fabricate, particularly when utilizing laminated material having an intermcdiately disposed heat aetivatable adhesive. The carton may be readily formed, filled, and sealed, all by using conventional equipment.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction, operation, or exact materials or embodiments shown described, as obvious modifications and equivalents will be apparent to one skilled in the art, and the invention is therefore to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

It. A dispensing carton comprising side panels and end panels defining an enclosure, the end panels at one end of said carton comprising an intermediate end flap suitably provided with severance lines defining a detachable panel providing a dispensing opening when detached, an outer end panel having severance lines provided therein substantially in registry With the severance lines defining said dispensing opening and defining a detachable reclosure flap hingedly connected at its base to one of said side panels and having a portion extending beyond said detachable panel, and an inner panel adhesively afiixed to said intermediate panel and having a recessed portion defining an opening a portion of which is substantially in registry with said detachable panel, said inner panel being hinged to one side panel and being of sufficient width to extend to the opposite side panel, whereby said dispensing opening may be provided by detaching said reclosure flap at the severance lines defining the sides thereof and detaching said detachable panel provided in said intermediate end panel, and whereby said carton may be reclosed by folding down said reclosure fiap and inserting the end thereof into said dispensing opening.

2. A carton according to claim I wherein said detachable dispensing opening panel is trapezoidal and said reclosure flap is provided with a tab at the portion thereof extending beyond said detachable panel.

A carton according to claim 2 wherein said inner end panel has a marg n xtending Within the area defined by s d detachable pa to provide a lateral border at one the non'narallel si thereof, and wherein a slit is provided in said margin ac ted to enga e and retain the tab end of said reclosure h when said end is inserted in said dispensing opening for reclos rig caron.

i. A carton according to claim 2 wherein said detachable panel is edhesively affixed to said reclosure flap, whereby opening of said rcclosure fiap simultaneously detaches said detachable dispensing opening panel and provides said dispensing opening.

5. A carton according to claim 1 wherein said inner end panel is recessed a smaller distaz than the altitude of said detachable dispensing opening thereby providing a guide whereby when said rec su e closed, the portion the col ending beyond said detachable panel may be inserted and retained intermediate said inner and intermediate end panels.

6. An integral blank for forming a dispensing carton comprising side panels and end panels adapted to define an enclosure, the end panels at one end of said carton comprising an intermediate end flap suitably provided with severance lines defining a detachable panel providing a dispensing opening when detached, an outer end panel hav' g severance lines provided therein adapted to be positioned substantially in registry with the severance lines defining said dispensing open when said carton is erected and defining a detachable reclosure flap hingcdly connected at its base to one of said side panels and having a portion adapted to ext nd beyond said detachable panel and an inner panel adapted to be adhesively affixed to said intermediate panel and having a recessed portion cleaning an opening a portion of which is adapted to be positioned substantially in registry with said detachable panel, said inner panel being hinged to one side panel and being of sufiicient width to extend to the opposite side panel in the erected carton, whereby when said carton is erected and sealed said dispensing opening may be provided by detaching said reclosure flap at the severance lines defining the sides thereof and detaching said detachable panel provided in said intermediate end panel, and whereby said carton may be reclosed by folding down said reclosure flap and inserting the end thereof into said dispensing opening.

7. An integral blank according to claim 6 wherein said detachable dispensing opening panel is trapezoidal and said reclosure flap is provided With a tab at the portion thereof extending beyond said detachable panel.

8. An integral blank according to claim 7 wherein said inner panel has a margin adapted to extend within the area defined by said detachable panel to provide a lateral border at one of the non-parallel sides thereof, and wherein a slit is provided in said margin adapted to engage and retain the tab end of said reclosure flap when said end is inserted in said dispensing opening for reclosing said carton.

9. An integral blank according to claim 7 wherein said detachable panel is adapted to be adhesively affixed to said reclosure flap, whereby opening of said reclosure flap in the erected carton simultaneously detaches said detachable panel and provides said dispensing opening.

it An integral blank according to claim 6 wherein said inner panel is recessed a smaller distance than the altitude of said detachable dispensing opening panel, thereby providing a guide whereby when said carton is erected and opened and said reclosure panel is subsequently reclosed, the apex thereof may be inserted and retained intermediate said inner and intermediate end panels.

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 1,020,536 3/1912 Byrne 229-47 7/1939 Ranko et al. 229-17 7/1960 Stagmeier 229-47 5/1961 Miller 229--17 7/l9-35 Rumberger 22)-37 

